Its the penultimate day before New Years Eve so I thought now was the perfect time to share my long awaited sausage roll recipe. I bake these every Saturday morning for the cafe as they make a great mid morning snack with a coffee, but when shrunk into bitesize finger food they become the perfect accompaniment to your new years cocktails. I’ve also got a really simple recipe for adding a festive twist to your favourite bubbles to clink and cheers as the clock strikes 12!

For this recipe I continued my Kitchen Tour blog series at Amy Swansons beautiful beachside apartment in Porth, above the coastal boutique ‘Roos Beach’. Amy (aka Swanny) is one of my longest standing friends from Cornwall and also an incredibly talented pilates instructor. Not only does she know her way around a cadillac, she’s a dab hand in the kitchen too, thus meaning she has a gorgeous open plan kitchen filled with an eclectic mix of retro, duck egg blue appliances and kitsch tableware all housed upon a sleek custom made ply wood worktop.

Baking here today was a complete treat as not only did we sneek in a couple of cocktails mid shoot! (recipe to follow) I also had an uninterrupted view of the sunset over Porth beach.

INGREDIENTS

Pork Fennel Seed and Apricot Sausage Rolls

250g free range pork mince ideally from your local butcher and at least 15% fat to keep the meat nice and juicy when cooking

Surprisingly simple to make, begin by deciding whether to make your own puff pastry making or buy a good quality all butter pre made puff which saves an awful lot of time and still gives a delicious result.

In a large bowl place the mince pork, tomato puree and 3 tsp fennel seeds, saving the 4th tsp to sprinkle onto later. Season with salt and pepper then add the dried apricots by sniping them in with scissors to save time chopping them. Get stuck in with your hands to combine all the ingredients, mixing together but only briefly as you don’t want to loose all the texture from the mince or else your sausage meat will be tough.

Roll the flavoured mince into two large sausages and lay both along the length of your sheet of pastry. Using a small, sharp knife, slice the pastry down the centre between your two lines of mince meat and then roll each half over to encase the pork. Seal the pastry with a little splash of water and use a fork to squash the edges closed. Not only does this look nice and rustic, it gives you a lovely crispy edge of extra pastry. Now cut each length into 8, giving you 16 party sized sausage rolls, or your can cut them into 8 larger ones for picnics or as a light lunch.

Generously paint the outside of each sausage roll with golden egg yolk then sprinkle the remaining teaspoon of fennel seeds evenly over the sausage rolls along with a generous pinch of Cornish sea salt. Score a couple of lines in the top with your knife or prick with a fork, this just allows steam to escape and gives your crispier pastry.

Place into a pre heated oven at 200 degrees for 20-25 mins or until golden brown. Best served warm with my favourite festive tipple…

So this is basically an Aperol spritz but I’ve ditched the usual addition of soda and ice which makes it a great refreshing summer drink and replaced them with the pink juice and jewels from a pomegranate to add sweetness and a christmas tree-esque stirrer in the form of a sprig of rosemary to add that festive piney aroma.

Firstly add the 50ml of Aperol into your glass of choice then simply pour chosen bubbles on top of the Aperol, followed by a good squeeze from a sliced pomegranate which should release a few seeds at the same time. Finally crown with a sprig of rosemary and cheers to a prosperous 2018!

Please tag any pics of your baking or bar skills, I’d love to see how you enjoy your new years #jamjarjess